The present invention includes a new and distinct cultivar of Fragaria ananassa known by the varietal name `Mira`, originally designated as "K84-5". The new variety resulted from a cross performed in 1982 between the unpatented cultivars `Scott` and `Honeoye`. The new variety first fruited at the Robinsons Corner research field of the Atlantic Food and Horticultural Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Chester Basin, Nova Scotia, Canada in 1984. The new variety was first asexually reproduced by runners in 1985 at the Atlantic Food and Horticultural Research station in Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada. Since 1992, propagules of the new variety have been tested at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada research centers in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Buctouche, New Brunswick and Fredericton, New Brunswick, all of Canada and at the Newfoundland Department of Agriculture field site at Pynn's Brook, Newfoundland, Canada and has been found to retain its distinctive characteristics through successive propagation.
The new variety is typical of short-day varieties and produces fruit over a four week period in northern temperate climates. `Mira` ripens in the mid-late season, and the pattern of production is similar to the standard variety `Kent` but three to five days later. `Mira` has a yield substantially greater than the varieties `Annapolis` (unpatented), `Cavendish` (the subject of U.S. Application Ser. No. 08/535,610, filed Sep. 8, 1995), `Blomidon` (unpatented), and `Bounty` (unpatented) and a yield equal to `Kent` (unpatented). The appearance of `Mira` is superior to `Kent` because of improvements in the uniformity of `Mira's` fruit shape and, unlike `Kent`, the fruit color of `Mira` does not darken excessively when over-ripe or after storage.